Damascus: Following the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi's historic visit to Damascus on Friday, the two countries decided to strengthen their ties and expand their economic cooperation with a focus on reconstruction.
Tehran has been a crucial ally of Damascus throughout Syria's protracted civil war, providing the government with crucial economic and military support that has allowed it to retake the majority of the territory it lost at the outset of the conflict.
According to a joint statement released on Friday, Raisi and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad spoke late on Thursday night about "ways to develop and strengthen bilateral relations" and "emphasised existing cooperation in the field of reconstruction."
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The first visit by an Iranian president to Syria since 2010 ended early on Friday, and Raisi called the two-day trip a "turning point" in bilateral relations.
Despite Western sanctions on both nations, the visit places Tehran in a key position in Syria's reconstruction as Assad seeks to concentrate on rebuilding the infrastructure and economy of his country.
Additionally, the two stated their "willingness to take any action to further develop commercial-economic relations."
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According to Raisi, 15 "cooperation documents" between Iran and Syria were signed on Thursday, enabling "both countries to open a new chapter in economic relations."
He also invited Assad to make an official trip to Tehran and praised Syria for "achieving victory" in the nation's war.
More than 500,000 people have died and millions have been displaced as a result of the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 when peaceful protesters were suppressed. Syria's northern countryside is still largely ungoverned.
Following the restoration of ties between Iran and its bitter rival Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, Raisi's visit prompted regional capitals to resume contact with the internationally isolated governments in Tehran and Damascus.
In an interview that aired on Syrian television on Friday night, Raisi said, "Iran and Saudi Arabia are two great nations," according to an official Arabic translation by the state news agency SANA.
According to Raisi, the reestablishment of ties between the nations would alter the situation and "bring order" to the region. "We refuse to be hostile to or view Saudi Arabia as an enemy."
The Arab League's foreign ministers will meet in an emergency session on Sunday to talk about the Sudanese conflict and Syria's readmission to the organisation after it was suspended in 2011 for its brutal suppression of protesters.
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In his interview, Raisi also mentioned that Iran was acting as a mediator in negotiations to normalise relations between Syria and Turkey, which were being facilitated by Russia. Moscow has promoted the restoration of diplomatic ties between Ankara, which has backed rebels and the opposition in an effort to overthrow Assad, and its Syrian ally.
The foreign ministers of Syria, Iran, Russia, and Turkey will meet in Moscow in the coming days.